Women and Financial Independence

Question

What was Yoganand’s take on the financial independence of women? Is it necessary for her to be financially independent after marriage to earn the respect of her husband?

Also I heard somewhere that stealing is better than being lazy. Isn’t it true that incurring no karma is better than incurring negative karma?

Thanks and regards

—Rusha Verma, India

Answer

Dear Rusha,

To my knowledge, Yogananda didn’t write specifically about financial independence of married women. He did write that a woman should not marry a man because of his money, because marriage for money never lasts. In his book: Spiritual Relationships, He suggested a plan of behavior for the wife and the husband for a successful marriage. One of the things he mentioned for the wife is that she should make herself more and more useful and interesting to her husband.